Mananthavady

Mananthavady
മാനന്തവാടി
Town

Pazhassi Kudeeram in Mananthavady
Mananthavady

Location in Kerala, India

Coordinates: 11°48′N 76°0′E / 11.800°N 76.000°E / 11.800; 76.000Coordinates: 11°48′N 76°0′E / 11.800°N 76.000°E / 11.800; 76.000
Country  India
State Kerala
District Wayanad
Elevation 760 m (2,490 ft)
Population (2001)
  Total 37,836
  Density 472/km2 (1,220/sq mi)
Languages
  Official Malayalam, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 670645
Telephone code 04935
Vehicle registration KL-72
Sex ratio 983 /
Literacy 85.77%

Mananthavady is a municipality and taluk in the Wayanad district of Kerala, India. The town is located on the banks of Mananthavady Puzha, a tributary of the Kabini River. Mananthavady has been referred to as "Hosenkadi" in a dictum scribbled under a copper artifact found at the Ananthanathaswamy Temple at Varadoor. The dominant view on the etymology is that the word is derived from "Mane Eytha Vady (The place where an arrow was shot at the deer)". This view is strengthened by the existence of a place called Ambukuthy, literally the location where the arrow pierced, on the outskirts of the town.[1] This area was once ruled by the Pazhassi dynasty and the tomb of Pazhassi Raja is an important heritage site located in the heart of the town. Mananthavady was a major army camp for the British during their campaign against Pazhassi. One can still see the vestiges of the colonial period - canteen, club, barracks, rest house, cemetery - around Mananthavady. This is also the headquarters of the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha. The District Hospital in Mananthavady is the only major treatment facility for the service of the tribal communities and other less privileged sections of Wayanad.

Mananthavady is located 28 km north-east of the district headquarters Kalpetta, 80 km east of Thalassery and 92 km north-east of Kozhikode(via.kutyady) Thalassery-Bavali Road is the major road passing through Mananthavady, which is well connected with both Mysore and Kodagu. Mananthavady is connected with Mysore (110 km away), via Kartikulam, Bavali and H D Kote through Nagarhole National Park. This road is parallel to Kabini River and closed during the night time to protect wild animals. Another road goes to Gonikoppal(60 km away) in Kodagu, via Kartikulam, Tholpetty forest, Kutta and Ponnampet.[2]

King of Pazhashi

Education

Wayanad has been an educationally backward district of Kerala until the nineties, but the situation has improved vastly in the last two decades. There was a time when the Government High School (now the Government Higher Secondary School) in Mananthavady was the only high school in the Panchayath. The situation has vastly improved from that time and since the establishment of Kannur University the opportunities for higher education has also improved.

School Education

Many government, aided and unaided schools exist in Mananthavady. They come under different boards of education such as Kerala State Education Board and Central Board of Secondary Education. Some of the schools which follow the state and central syllabus are listed below:[3]

College Education

The Government College Mananthavady was established in 1981. It was the only centre for higher learning in North Wayanad for a long time. In 1995 Mary Matha Arts & Science College was started in the Government aided sector. Govt. College of Engineering was started in 1999, the first engineering college in Wayanad. In the unaided sector there are two colleges - P.K.K.M. College of Applied Science and W.M.O Imam Gazzali Arts & Science College. All the colleges are affiliated to Kannur University. The university also has a centre in Mananthavady with three departments (Teacher Education, Zoology and Rural & Tribal Sociology).

Places of interest

SNM School, Varayal

Art Gallery: The Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery is located on the Mysore Road. The Gallery regularly hosts exhibitions of various Indian artists and organizes cultural events.

Boys town (15 km north of Mananthavady): Herbal garden, nature care centre, sericulture unit, perma-culture centre etc., established by the Wayanad Social Service Society and Gene Park (the Indo-Danish project for promoting herbal gardening) are situated here

Brahmasthana Temple & Mata Amritanandamayi Math (1.5 km from the Town).

Chandanathode: The only pine forest in Wayanad.

Kuruvadweep (17 km east of Mananthavady ): 950-acre (3.8 km2) protected river delta system.

Latin Church : Situated at the heart of the town. It is a reminder of the towns colonial past.

Mananthavady Park : It is situated on the banks of the Mananthavady puzha (1 km from the Panchayath Bus Stand). The park is also known for its bat colony. The attempts by the authorities to get rid of the bats lead to protests by environmental activists.

Paalamandhapam Devi Temple & Malakkari Temple Koolivayal (12 km from Mananthavady, 6 km from Panamaram town)

Pallikkal Juma Masjid (Kalyanathum Pallikkal): One of the oldest mosques in kerala situated in the heart of pallikkal angadi.

Payingattery Agraharam (payingattery Gramam): One of the oldest agraharams in Wayanad (2 km of mananthavady)

Pazhassi kudeeram: Tomb of Pazhassi Raja who fought the British to his death.

Periya: A village about 25 km from Mananthavady town on Thalasserry road.

Thirunelli Temple: This is a famous pilgrim centre 36 km from Mananthavady.

Thrissilery Siva Temple: One of the famous shrines in Wayanad situated in Thrissilery. There is a Jala Durga temple in the same complex.

Tholpetty Wild Life Sanctuary : It is 24 km on the way to Coorg.

Valliyoor Kavu

Valliyoorkkavu (3 km from the town): This Temple is dedicated to Mother Goddess and is worshipped in three principal forms of Vana Durga, Bhadrakali and Jala Durga. It is the most important place of worship for the tribal communities. The annual 15 day festival is in March/April and is the grandest of all festivals in the district. Slave trade used to take place here during the festival. It is still the largest congregation of all tribals of Wayanad.

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary: Established in 1973, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is contiguous to the protected area network of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka on the northeast and Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu on the southeast. Rich in bio-diversity, the sanctuary is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which has been established with the specific objective of conserving the biological heritage of the region. The sanctuary is very rich in flora and fauna.

Muthireri kavu: A temple associated with Kottiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam . The temple is situated in small village Muthireri, about 8 km from Mananthavady

Public Libraries

Pazhassi Smaraka Granthalayam, Solidarity Library, Anjukunnu Pothujana Grandhalayam, Tagore Smaraka Grandhalayam Kommayad, Kaniyaram Prabhath Reading room and Library.

Villages

Boys Town near Mananthavady

Ghat roads

Mainly five Ghat roads are used for reaching Mananthavady from coastal towns and lower hilly towns of Kerala:

  1. From Thalassery: Nedumpoil-Periya Ghat road, which connects Kasargod, Kannur, Thalassery and Kuthuparamba with Wayanad
  2. From Kozhikode: Thamarassery-Lakkidi Ghat road, part of NH 212, which connects Kozhikode and the rest of Kerala, south of Kozhikode with Wayanad
  3. From Vadakara: Kuttiady-Pakramthalam Ghat road, which connects Thalassery, Vadakara, Nadapuram, Kuttiady and Thottilpalam with Wayanad
  4. From Iritty: Kottiyoor-Ambayathode-Palchuram-Boys Town Ghat road, which connects lower hilly towns and villages of Kannur and Kasargod districts with Wayanad. The towns are Panathur, Malom, Udayagiri, Cherupuzha, Alakode, Sreekandapuram, Payyavoor, Iritty, Peravoor, Kelakam, Kottiyoor, etc.
  5. From Nilambur: Vazhikkadavu-Nadukani Ghat road, which connects Nilambur, Palakkad, Thrissur and Perinthalmanna, with Wayanad.

There is a high demand to start new bus route from Mananthavady to Ernakulam via Thamarassery, Perinthalmanna, Guruvayur which is the shortest way from here bypassing the cities Thrissur and Kozhikkode.

Getting there

Image gallery

References

  1. http://lsgkerala.in/mananthavadypanchayat/
  2. P. P.Chandran (April 2003). "Wayanad District" (PDF). District Handbooks of Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram: Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Kerala. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  3. "List of High Schools in Wayanad" (PDF). General Education Department, Govt. of Kerala. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
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